I've submitted a feature request to the bug tracker that I'd like to bring to the community's attention:

👉 bugs.limesurvey.org/view.php?id=20555

The core idea: LimeSurvey already stores `questions.type` and `questions.question_theme_name` as separate fields in the database — but the UI doesn't reflect this separation. Currently, the Question Theme is selected as part of the question type selection, and it cannot be changed after a survey has been activated.

The request proposes two changes:

1. Allow selecting the Question Theme independently from the Question Type in a dedicated setting.
2. Allow changing the Question Theme after survey activation — since a theme change affects only the presentation layer and does not touch the answer structure, response data, SGQA identifiers, or ExpressionScript logic.

If you've run into situations where you wanted to switch a question's visual presentation without touching its data structure — especially on active surveys — I'd appreciate your vote and feedback on the tracker.

Happy to discuss the implications here as well.

:+1:

This makes a lot of sense. Separating the Question Theme from the Question Type would give users much more flexibility, especially when a survey is already active.
If changing the theme only affects presentation and leaves the underlying answer structure, response data, SGQA identifiers and ExpressionScript logic untouched, being able to make that change after activation seems like a very useful improvement.
I can definitely see this being valuable for anyone who wants to adjust the visual presentation without having to recreate or modify the question itself.